A word about seachem

[jschall]

Since the purpose of this thread here at Monster Fish Keepers was to boast of the helpful customer service offered by Seachem…

I felt it important to expose that in the example made, Seachem was being misleading, which is quite the disservice…

The above quotes show very clearly that Seachem was being misleading… and they admitted it…



While I still feel Seachem makes quality products, and I have higher confidence in their products than their competitors… Please use this as an example that you should not trust their Customer Service nor their Promotional Statements… They will lie to you or otherwise mislead you to gain sales…

The less you understand your aquarium the more you are forced to rely on them…

The link to the thread at Seachem’s Forum for the full conversation there - http://www.seachem.com/support/forums/showthread.php?t=2783

A couple thoughts:
- The employee may not have been intentionally trying to mislead someone. He may simply have misunderstood the problem himself. It's doubtful, but possible.
- Judging seachem's policy by the action of one employee is a little bit premature. If you have examples of other seachem employees intentionally misinforming people for the purpose of selling more products, then you could justifiably call seachem liars. I think they put more effort into informing their customers than any other aquarium product manufacteror, and most/all of their products work well.

Anyway, every time I look at my aquarium I marvel at how much better the water looks compared to before. Mostly due to tannin removal, but I'm fairly sure there were other dissolved organics discoloring the water as well.

 

[Toby_H]

My judgement of Seachem being eager to mislead customers to increase sales is not at all limited to this single experience.

I've shared in other threads at MFK places where I've seen them be misleading...

I've posted in other threads on Seachems forums places where I've seen them be misleading...

I've left far more misleading or untruthful comments unchallenged...

If you read the vast detail the Rep put into his mileading comments, it is quite obvious that he put great thought into lying to you... Only to have his lie admitted by his Administrator...

And I pointed out a very obvious horrible comparison that his Administrator made while admitting his rep's lie. Which the Administrator left untouched, as it was quite clear I was right...

It is not at all in their best interest to debate with customers. So I don't blame them for not doing so. But I do blame them for feeding or creating misunderstandings.

 

[Seachem]

Thanks to everyone for the positive comments about our products.

I am confident in stating that Seachem makes itself more available to hobbyists than any other chemical manufacturer in this industry. We actually do this and pay salaries to individuals with the sole responsibility of making themselves available to you in order to not mislead and help inform hobbyists. Do you think that we are not aware that anything posted on our forum is publicly available? We are. Furthermore, we are fully aware that anything we state can and will be challenged by individuals such as yourselves in a public manner.

nc_nutcase,
Please understand that we are hobbyists as well and use Seachem products on a daily basis in our own aquariums. We also answer technical questions not only based on standard answers, but also based on our own personal experiences. It is likely that Tech Support JS uses Purigen in his own aquarium and has not witnessed any ill effects on his biological filter (as you shouldn't). This is more than likely the reason why he answered the question in the manner he did. It seemed from the original poster's question that he/she was concerned about Purigen having a negative impact on his/her biological filter. At least, Tech Support JS took it that way and answered accordingly based on his own experiences and knowledge of the product. I think it is noteworthy and beneficial that Seachem allows us to post as not only employees, but as hobbyists as well. I am very sorry that you feel we are a misleading company, but I really do not see how that is a fair statement when you consider our various methods of interacting with our customers (and non-customers for that matter).

I hope that in the future we can gain your trust. We will continue to be active in the forum community in the hopes that it will one day pay off with you and with any other hobbyists who may feel this way about Seachem.

 

[Toby_H]

That’s great that most (if not all) of you guys are hobbyists too… and that you have this experience behind you when you are answering questions…

But when people ask questions to Seachem Reps on the Seachem forum, we aren’t asking for a hobbyists opinion, we are asking for a scientific response.


In the Thread on the Seachem Forum that sparked this thread here… A true and logical statement (not a question) was made…

“Because Purigen removes what would otherwise be converted into ammonia, nitrates, nitrates, I assume that it will have the effect of reducing the bacterial colony size in my filter (since there will be "food" for fewer bacteria, fewer will be required).”

And a Seachem Rep chose to counter this statement with misinformation…

“Purigen will not have an effect on the bacteria in your tank.”

Only to later be corrected by another Seachem Rep stating

“we will agree with you that the use of Purigen will have some effect on your beneficial bacteria.”

Therefore it is quite obvious… the first Rep gave out misinformation in order to build confidence in a Seachem Product…

The sad part is, had the Seachem Rep taken the time to honestly reply to the comment, giving readers an opportunity to be actually educated on the topic (as opposed to mislead)… Readers would have still gained confidence in the Seachem product…

Seachem makes great products… Seachem makes employees available to offer guidance to customers… I just wish they would give honest guidance the first time without having to be prodded.

There is no harm in an honest education, if you have nothing to hide… So give it to us straight the first time… Have confidence in your products...

 

[Sab_Fan]

I agree with you NC, but perhaps a more charitable view of the first Seachem rep's response is that he meant it would not have a detrimental effect (?)

he should not have implied that it would not have any effect, but I'm just not sure it's fair to assume he was being misleading, he just may not have been as explicit as he should have been . . . I'd say it was a missed opportunity on his part

 

[Toby_H]

I can agree with that perspective Sab…

Throughout all of this, I do my best to continue to compliment Seachems products, as I do believe they make great products…

I also think I have, and would like to continue, complimenting the fact that Seachem makes themselves more available to their customers and potential customers than any other aquarium product manufacturer I’ve ever come across.

I would also like to take a moment to compliment their product descriptions. Having done a good bit of comparisons last night I find their product descriptions heads and shoulders about their competitions.

My goal here has in no way been to make Seachem look bad… as I do not look badly upon them…

But this thread began by a MFK member pointing out the helpfulness of a Seachem Rep on the Seachem forum… and in his example the Seachem Rep was being untruthful…

What (I felt) made it so bad was that the Author of the thread made a factual statement, not as a question, but as a statement… and the Seachem Rep attempted to ‘correct’ his statement, by providing misinformation.

Had the Seachem Rep answered a question in an over simplified manor, I would have been able to overlook it much easier. But that’s not what happened. The rep attempted to ‘correct’ a true statement with a false statement…

My point is, if you are going to put yourself out there the way Seachem does, it is imperative that they do so providing the most accurate information possible. And in this case it seems the Author of the thread understood the chemistry better than the Seachem rep, or at least that one detail of it… But since Seachem has told us that all of the customer reps have degrees in Chemistry, I struggle to understand how this mistake was made.

Had I read this thread on Seachem’s site, I would have shaken my head at it and not responded. But when the Author then mad this thread here at MFK boasting the helpful informative response… I had to point out the obvious flaw…

Then in subsequent posts it seemed that people were at first denying the flaw… but once the Seachem Admin admitted the flaw the new defense was, well it’s only a small flaw…

I agree it isn’t a huge flaw… I agree it wasn’t grossly deceiving the readers… But I insist that it was providing a malediction… and I spend hours every week on this forum trying to help other’s gain a truthful education. And misinformation being spread by such a respectable manufacturer counters that happening…

For those of you who read all of this, please glance at the first few lines again where I compliment Seachem

 

[youngbuckfl]

ok the ? i have is i am using the 100ml single pack purigen and want to know can i use it on a 29 gal tank it says for up to 100gal wasnt sure if it was to much.also how good are their other products i want to start using them instead of amquel and novaqua

 

[JAFRIAS]

yes but PURIGEN is for organic waste n will not replace AMQUEL for water changes

 

[JAFRIAS]

ok the ? i have is i am using the 100ml single pack purigen and want to know can i use it on a 29 gal tank it says for up to 100gal wasnt sure if it was to much.also how good are their other products i want to start using them instead of amquel PRIME is a good replacement for these two productand novaqua

prime

 

[Mr Pleco]

ok the ? i have is i am using the 100ml single pack purigen and want to know can i use it on a 29 gal tank it says for up to 100gal wasnt sure if it was to much.also how good are their other products i want to start using them instead of amquel and novaqua

With purigen use only Prime..read directions on purigen... certain water conditioners with slime coat replacement can become diastrous with Purigen when regenerating......don't know what the effect would have in the tank?


" Caution: some slime coat products may permanently foul Purigen® and render regeneration difficult. Do not reuse if odor of chlorine is detectable. In case of doubt"